The gale of tragedy struck in Talata Mafara town in Zamfara State, as a Gusau bound commercial vehicle killed four officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), on Friday, October 28, 2016.

According to a source, who witnessed the incident, the commercial vehicle, a Volkswagen Golf, which was heading to Gusau from Sokoto, at a very high speed, crashed into the FRSC officials, who were holding mobile court along the busy Sokoto-Gusau Road.

The source said: “The FRSC officials tried to stop him but because he was golf driver was driving at a very high speed, he could not stop, so hit them and it resulted in the death of four of them.”

The source who preferred anonymity also disclosed that the driver absconded into the bush abandoning the passengers in his vehicle, on sighting that he had killed four officials of the FRSC.

When contacted, the Zamfara State Sector Commander of the corps, Mr Amos Y Thliza, who confirmed the tragedy, remained apparently reticent in view of his sad mood.

Also speaking, another source at the scene of the accident said the injured ones have been rushed to a medical facility for treatment.

Meanwhile, the driver has since been arrested and handed over to the Police for further investigations and further necessary action.

According to a press release signed by Bisi Kazeem, Head, Media Relations and Strategy of FRSC, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi, the corps marshal, directed that the full weight of law must be applied against the driver for the dastardly killings‎.

Oil workers under the aegis of the National Union of Petroleum and National Gas (NUPENG), and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), had on October 26, issued a 21-day ultimatum to the government.

The unions had called on the federal government to intervene on the matter by putting a stop to the sacking of its members.

Speaking on behalf of the government on the matter, Ngige said the ministry, earlier in the year, had several meetings with the employers, leadership of the unions and employees in which an agreement was reached.

His words: “We all had an agreement and the agreement was that instead of retrenchment, they should focus on reducing some of their top most positions of the establishments.

“We also agreed that some allowances should be shielded up, while some offices of directors and top management staff should be pegged.

“They all agreed and that is what they have been doing, we also formed a kind of forum between the employers, employees and unions with my ministry.

“The forum is supposed to be meeting to fashion out oil and gas labour relations which will guide whatever is happening there.

“I do not know if NUPGENG is dissatisfied with what is coming out from that forum.’’

The minister recalled that two months ago “NUPGENG and PENGASSAN had submitted petitions against the oil and gas companies, and there were marathon meetings held with the employers.”

According to Ngige, the ministry had then convened series of meetings where issues were looked into on companies’ basis to understand why they should not retrench.

The minister stated that he had then directed the companies to recall their retrenched workers as the right procedures and due process as stipulated in Section 20 of the Redundancy Law was not followed.

“I will find out why NUPGENG is issuing the 21-day ultimatum and also call for a meeting to look at the developing issues.

“If there are particular companies that have deviated from the agreement we have reached, we will call those companies and ask them to comply,’’ the minister said.

The senate on Thursday amended the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act (CCB/CCT Act) – effectively transferring the president’s regulatory power over the bureau and tribunal to the National Assembly.

The senate also reintroduced a provision which authorises the CCB to invite anyone found culpable in asset declaration to make necessary correction as against being charged to the tribunal for trial – a provision that had earlier been expunged from the extant law.

The passage of the bill comes few months after the trial of Senate President Bukola for false asset declaration commenced at the CCT.

The senate president had flayed on the CCB, which filed the charges against him, for not inviting him for questioning on the charges before it filed them.

Although, actual amendments to the Act were done by the house of representatives and passed on May 31, the senate concurred with the house and passed the bill on Thursday, October 27, 2016.

Yesterday, the senate passed 14 amendments to the Act.
‎

It amended section 3 of the Act thus: “Upon complaint(s) of any breach or where it appears to the bureau that there is a breach of the provision or this Act, the person concerned shall be given particulars of such non compliance or breaches to explain before any reference to the tribunal.”

This means that the CCB cannot immediately refer a matter to the CCT without giving a public officer a notice; one of the contentions of Saraki.

Section 1 (4) which was expunged, and replaced with “the chairman and members shall serve for a term of five years subject to renewal for one further term only”.

Section 4 (2) was amended to substitute the word “president” with “the national assembly” as the one to confer powers on the bureau and the tribunal.

The parliament also succeeded in stripping the president of the power of total control over the CCB by amending section 18(1) & (2) of the CCB/CCT Act and simultaneously transferring such powers to the National Assembly.

Section 18(1) & (2) of the extant Act provides thus: “The president may by order exempt any cadre of public officers from the provisions of the Act if it appears to him that their position in the public service is below the rank which it considers appropriate for the application of those provisions.

“The president may by order confer on the Bureau such additional powers as may appear to it to be necessary to enable it discharge more effectively the functions conferred upon it under this Act.”

The “president” in the above provisions has now been substituted with “National Assembly” which implies that the National Assembly will now determine the power of the CCB.

The National Assembly, also in the amendment, will now determine who should be exempted from asset declaration or not.

The rationale behind the closure remains unknown, however, what is known is that ‘Vine’ — which lets people share six-second-long looping video clips — will cease to exist in the following months.

Twitter, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said:

Since 2013, millions of people have turned to Vine to laugh at loops and see creativity unfold. Today, we are sharing the news that in the coming months we’ll be discontinuing the mobile app.

Nothing is happening to the apps, website or your Vines today. We value you, your Vines, and are going to do this the right way. You’ll be able to access and download your Vines. We’ll be keeping the website online because we think it’s important to still be able to watch all the incredible Vines that have been made. You will be notified before we make any changes to the app or website.

Thank you. Thank you. To all the creators out there — thank you for taking a chance on this app back in the day. To the many team members over the years who made this what it was — thank you for your contributions. And of course, thank you to all of those who came to watch and laugh every day.

What’s next? We’ll be working closely with creators to make sure your questions are answered and will work hard to do this the right way. We’ll be sharing more details on this blog and our Twitter account, and will notify you through the app when we start to change things.

Twitter acquired the platform three months after it was founded back in 2012 for a reported $30m. As of 2015, the site had more than 40m registered users and 200m people watched its six second clips each month.

Mark Warburton hopes his future as Rangers manager is long term after reports linked him with the vacant managerial post Wigan.

The Rangers boss is reportedly a rival to MK Dons boss Karl Robinson and former Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs for the Latics job, which has been vacant since the sacking of Gary Caldwell.

Speaking ahead of the visit of Kilmarnock on Saturday, Warburton said: “I am absolutely bemused where these reports come from. I am amazed they even make the papers.”

Warburton, who signed James Tavernier, Martyn Waghorn and Rob Kiernan from Wigan last season, was said to be highly-rated by the club’s chairman David Sharpe.

However, Warburton denies having a relationship with Sharpe and insists he is committed to Rangers.

“I didn’t actually deal with David. I have no relationship there at all,” Warburton added. “With all respect to Wigan I have no idea where the rumour has come from.

“I am the manager of Rangers, I would never talk about another club or another job. I am just amazed that it even makes the tabloids.”

“I hope very much it is long term [project at Rangers. We spoke about building foundations.

“We look at where the club has been the last four or five years, rightly or wrongly, and the club needs to move forward on strong foundations.

“That is our task and our aim, and working closely with the chairman and the board and everyone involved with the club and if we can do that and put the club on sound footings then we will be in a good place.

“I just don’t think we can afford to move too recklessly and try to move too quickly without those strong foundations.”

Gary Caldwell has released a statement expressing his “great sadness” that he was not given the time to finish the job he started at Wigan.

Caldwell was sacked by the Sky Bet Championship strugglers after just 18 months in charge at the DW Stadium.

The 34-year-old former defender led the Latics to the League One title last season in his first managerial position but a poor start this term – which yielded just two wins in 14 matches – cost him his job.

“I am obviously incredibly disappointed to be leaving Wigan Athletic after more than seven years at the club,” said Caldwell.

“Having led the team to promotion in my first full season in charge as manager I was hopeful of being given the time necessary to turn results around and so it is with great sadness that I will now not be able to finish the job I started.

“I am fully aware that the results recently haven’t been good enough but having not lost by more than one goal all season, I truly believed that we were not far away from getting things right and turning the corner.”

Sir Alex Ferguson believes five teams are capable of winning the Premier League, including Spurs and his old club. He hasn’t named Chelsea on the list.

Bayern Munich are increasingly confident forward Robert Lewandowski will sign a contract extension at the club.

Wigan are ready to appoint Manchester United U21 coach Warren Joyce as their new manager.

Real Madrid tried to hire Pep Guardiola as a replacement for Rafael Benitez last November, according to the Manchester City manager’s biographer it has been reported.

Bastian Schweinsteiger’s future has been cast into further doubt after he was omitted from Manchester United’s 2016/17 team photo.

Liverpool are considering leaving their Melwood training base in a bid to bring the first-team and the academy closer together.

Erik Lamela is hoping to become the latest Tottenham player to commit his future to the club by signing a new contract.

Claudio Ranieri has warned Leicester duo Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez that making the Ballon d’Or short-list will not spare them from the axe if they are slack.

Vincent Kompany faces a big battle to prove he can fit Pep Guardiola’s prototype of a centre-half.

Nigel Pearson has emerged as a leading contender to take over at Wolverhampton Wanderers after the dismissal of Walter Zenga.

Margaret Byrne, the ex-Sunderland chief executive who was forced to quit over her handling of the Adam Johnson sexual assault case, will be the guest speaker at the Women in Football’s Annual Awards dinner in December.

Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not push for a move and insists he “will do everything to try and help the team” despite having only played four times since his £30m move from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.

Xabi Alonso believes Jurgen Klopp has been successful at Liverpool because he has embraced the culture, tradition and hunger of the club.

Arsenal and Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil held discussions with Fenerbahce over a move to Turkey in the summer according to reports.

Nathaniel Chalobah insists he never lost belief he would be handed the chance to prove himself at Chelsea.

QPR director of football Les Ferdinand has told fans to get realistic over their chances of promotion this season.

Manchester United sent a scout to watch Moussa Dembele in Celtic’s 4-0 victory over Ross County on Wednesday.

Scotland’s most expensive player Olivier Burke is being shaped into a No.10 at RB Leipzig, his coach Ralph Hasenhuttl has revealed.

Saul Niguez has underlined Diego Simeone’s towering influence at Atletico Madrid by promising he will not leave while the Argentine remains in charge.

The 21-year-old has developed into one of Simeone’s most important players in the last two seasons, famously scoring a mesmeric winning goal against Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-final last term.

The Spain international had been linked to a move away in the summer, with Manchester United and Arsenal reportedly interested in his services.

“As long as Simeone is here, no, I won’t leave,” Saul told Spanish magazine Club del Deportista. “When a coach has faith in you as much as he has and gives you that confidence, it’s vital.”

Serie A champions Juventus are keeping an eye on Sergio Aguero’s situation at Manchester City, according to Don Balon.

In recent weeks, Pep Guardiola has chosen not to start the Argentina international in a number of high-profile fixtures – away at Barcelona and, more recently, in Wednesday’s EFL Cup defeat to Manchester United.

The initial snub at the Camp Nou led to reports Aguero could follow in Joe Hart and Yaya Toure’s the footsteps in being frozen out of Guardiola’s plans at City.

Inter Milan were the first to be linked with a surprise move for the prolific striker and now Juventus are reportedly interested, should he decide to leave the Etihad Stadium.

Then again, who wouldn’t be interested in signing a player with 107 Premier League goals to his name in just 157 appearances?

Ander Herrera admits he would love to stay at Manchester United for “as long as possible”.

Herrera, 27, produced another eye-catching display in the Reds’ 1-0 win over Manchester City on Wednesday evening and he admits that the EFL Cup tie was exactly the type of match he relishes.

“I like these games,” Herrera told the club’s website. “When you are a Manchester United player and you know the history of this club, you have to respect the games that are for the fans.

“I feel it like them. I am not English and I am not from Manchester, but I really love this club and I have enjoyed my time here. I don’t want to be just one more player. I want to show that I am very happy here and I want to be here for as long as possible.

“I have had bad moments here. Last season we lost two or three games in a row before having Chelsea at home and the atmosphere was one of the best. Man United fans are always with the team and not every team can say that.”

Manchester United left back, Luke Shaw is determined to step up and prove his worth to coach Jose Mourinho.

The England international has had an indifferent start to life under Mourinho and at Unites, partly due to injury.

Shaw is eager to cement his position as left back and was well on the way to that after impressing in preseason. However, a mistake in the 3-1 loss to Watford drew scathing criticism from Mourinho in September.

After missing the 4-0 thrashing to Chelsea, he was utilised in the EFL cup against Manchester City due to the unavailability of Bailly and the Englishman is eager to return to the starting XI.

“It’s normal you’re frustrated on Sunday because I would have loved to play in that game [against Chelsea] but it obviously wasn’t meant to be and at the end of the day it is the manager’s decision,” said Shaw.

“Obviously with the injury with Eric now it might be my time to step up and show the manager what I can do and that he can trust me.

“The first half [against City] wasn’t the best of mine. I thought I did good but on some of the crosses I wasn’t maybe getting tight enough, but he [Jesus Navas] is a very quick player and it was quite tough.

“But I came out in the second half and I felt much better. I was closing him sharply, we made sure he got no crosses in and I felt really good. Hopefully I play on Saturday and get another 90 minutes and a good result with that.”

Shaw and United welcome Burnley to Old Trafford on Saturday, seeking to end a three-game winless streak in the Premier League.

With less than a month to the commencement of the Ondo State Governorship Election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has published the list of 28 candidates to vie for the state’s top job.

Before the anti-graft commission granted him the bail, he was asked to drop his International Passport and also produce a surety of not below Level 16 in the Civil Service as part of the conditions – for his release.

As soon as the EFCC released the former spokesman, the anti-corruption agency got a warrant to further detain former FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed.